Cold brings fun, misery

The lowest temperature of the season so far sent skiers, sledders and snowboarders flocking to Mount Charleston for winter fun Wednesday and filled homeless shelters down in the valley.

Officials at the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort are bracing for weekend crowds as higher temperatures and a base of 19 inches of snow are expected to result in ideal conditions on Mount Charleston.

"We've been busy," said Craig Baldwin, operations manager at the snow park. "We've had some fresh snow, so everybody's been coming."

The cold sent the homeless scrambling for shelter. The Salvation Army filled its 550 cots Wednesday.

"There is nothing more that we can do because all the space is used up," said Salvation Army spokesman Charles Desiderio, who added that other shelters were also full. "It's so pathetic; there are so many more beds needed in this community."

Because of the demand, the Salvation Army even filled its daytime resource center with beds at night, Desiderio said.

"It's a terrible situation to be in, especially since the weather is supposed to be below freezing again tonight," he said. "And the winds are supposed to kick up again, so that is not good."

The Salvation Army must prioritize, offering beds to the disabled and women with children. When the beds are full, it has no choice but to turn people away, he said.

"What do you do?" Desiderio said. "You try your best."

The cold snap dropped temperatures in the valley to 29 degrees overnight Wednesday and to the mid-40s during the day, levels below normal, National Weather Service meteorologist Clay Morgan said.

It was the lowest temperature yet of the season at McCarran International Airport.

Wednesday night brought snow to parts of the Las Vegas Valley.

Temperatures are expected to return to normal -- mid-30s at night and mid-50s during the day -- by this weekend.

The most recent cold front moved in from the north.

"We're in a pattern right now where we have northwest winds upstairs bringing in air from the Gulf of Alaska and Canada," Morgan said. "That is not helping things at all."

Until Dec. 20, valley residents enjoyed temperatures in the high 50s and low 60s. On Dec. 21, the high dropped to 48 degrees.

The longest cold streak this year occurred between Dec. 8 and Dec. 17, when the mercury never rose above 54 degrees.

The high temperature is not expected to break the 50-degree mark until Saturday. Sunday is projected to be the warmest day of the cold snap, with a high of 56.

In Northern Nevada, a post-Christmas winter storm dropped light snow ahead of a blast of Arctic air that was forecast to drop temperatures into the low teens across the area and below zero in the Sierra Nevada.

Jessica Kielhorn with the weather service in Reno said the conditions are the coldest of the early winter season.

"Lows will bottom out in the lower teens in Reno and the coldest locations dropping below zero," the weather service said in a statement. "Temps will struggle to reach freezing on Thursday."

Much the same was forecast across Northern Nevada, with readings heading into the single digits and with little warming expected at week's end.

Snow, which tapered off late Wednesday, was expected to return to the forecast today and into the weekend, with scattered showers in the valleys but 1 to 3 inches in the Sierra around Lake Tahoe and 3 to 5 inches above 7,000 feet, at summit level on Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 50.

Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or (702) 384-8710. The Associated Press contributed to this report.